I think I prefer an open market with prices that have naturally fallen to this point than something with artificially inflated prices. There are two things at play here.
One, the competition in the app store right now is so voluminous and so fierce that it's driving prices down. It's a natural phenomenon that will happen in nearly any "free" market. To complain about it is to complain about the essence of free market pricing.
Second, these lower prices allow for higher volume of sales. The prices have settled here because this is what users see as the value of these apps. No offense to these guys/gals, but I wouldn't pay $10 for something to track my gas mileage. I'd find a free web app (if they exist) or just keep it in a note. I get the value-add of IRS compliant reporting and such, but that's a niche problem to solve. Charging $10 for that is fine, but don't expect mass market appeal or uptake.
I think the biggest problem is that people who write niche apps like these apps expect to see numbers like "Fart-O-Matic 9000" or "Angry Birds." You won't. Accept that and then figure out what's going to make you the most money. The trick is figuring out if pricing at $10 and making (x) sales is more profitable than pricing at $1 and making (y) sales. For some developers, pricing higher with lower volume is much, much better, and these developers are typically niche applications (take a look at some of the "pro" audio apps on iPad especially) that can handle the price difference because the people seeking them REALLY need the value that they're offering.
An MPG tracking app that gives me nice Excel sheets might not be enough to warrant $10 in the eyes of users, and I don't think that's necessarily Apple's fault or the market's fault. Maybe it's just that the niche you're targeting won't sustain the price you want, and unfortunately, that's the way the cookie crumbles when selling software like this.
As an author of one semi-pro audio app, I can tell you that even the "pro" apps are selling for as little as 1/10th of the price of a similar app on a Mac. I really doubt the sales volumes compensate for that.
The big problem with the app store is that the people on the very high end of the power distribution dictate a pricing structure for everyone that only really works for those moving huge volumes. People now have a preconceived idea of what an app should cost that often has nothing to do with how much it must actually sell for in order to turn a profit.
For example, an excellent synth app like this would probably sell for at least $99 as a plugin for Mac/PC:
http://beepstreet.com/horizon
I don't know for sure but I'd be very surprised if it's moving 20x the units it would as a plugin. But if you price something like this above $10 you'll get all kinds of user outrage because that's not what an "app" should cost.
I'm listening to the link of the app and it is good but people have to be aware of it. This is the third synth app I've seen. I've also seen Animoog that was posted on The Verge.
The fault is that these apps need more advertisements. I'm willing to bet that most don't know that they can create music with a low-priced app. Consumers need to be made aware of this. There are YouTube videos destined to be made with these kind of apps.
For example, I saw an Sprint iPhone ad yesterday (maybe you've seen it?) where a guy is talking to his girlfriend while watching a game. All I gathered from the commercial was that the iPhone was on Sprint. They didn't give me the app or whether the game was live. The commercial became immediately insignificant.
I don't think marketing is the answer here. Every musician I know with an iOS device knows about this app. The problem is that the potential audience for something like this is never going to be big enough to make the Angry Birds pricing model work.
>An MPG tracking app that gives me nice Excel sheets might not be enough to warrant $10 in the eyes of users, and I don't think that's necessarily Apple's fault or the market's fault. Maybe it's just that the niche you're targeting won't sustain the price you want, and unfortunately, that's the way the cookie crumbles when selling software like this.
Gas Cubby is a terrific app and I don't believe it's a niche. I think it's rather important in the US where many drive cars just because it reminds you where servicing is due. It suffers on gas station and prices because it's not easy to get these stats and prices change on a daily basis. I think the app suffers from a lack of advertisement.
There is still room for improvement within the app and to make it a necessity for all drivers.
Comments
I think I prefer an open market with prices that have naturally fallen to this point than something with artificially inflated prices. There are two things at play here.
One, the competition in the app store right now is so voluminous and so fierce that it's driving prices down. It's a natural phenomenon that will happen in nearly any "free" market. To complain about it is to complain about the essence of free market pricing.
Second, these lower prices allow for higher volume of sales. The prices have settled here because this is what users see as the value of these apps. No offense to these guys/gals, but I wouldn't pay $10 for something to track my gas mileage. I'd find a free web app (if they exist) or just keep it in a note. I get the value-add of IRS compliant reporting and such, but that's a niche problem to solve. Charging $10 for that is fine, but don't expect mass market appeal or uptake.
I think the biggest problem is that people who write niche apps like these apps expect to see numbers like "Fart-O-Matic 9000" or "Angry Birds." You won't. Accept that and then figure out what's going to make you the most money. The trick is figuring out if pricing at $10 and making (x) sales is more profitable than pricing at $1 and making (y) sales. For some developers, pricing higher with lower volume is much, much better, and these developers are typically niche applications (take a look at some of the "pro" audio apps on iPad especially) that can handle the price difference because the people seeking them REALLY need the value that they're offering.
An MPG tracking app that gives me nice Excel sheets might not be enough to warrant $10 in the eyes of users, and I don't think that's necessarily Apple's fault or the market's fault. Maybe it's just that the niche you're targeting won't sustain the price you want, and unfortunately, that's the way the cookie crumbles when selling software like this.
As an author of one semi-pro audio app, I can tell you that even the "pro" apps are selling for as little as 1/10th of the price of a similar app on a Mac. I really doubt the sales volumes compensate for that.
The big problem with the app store is that the people on the very high end of the power distribution dictate a pricing structure for everyone that only really works for those moving huge volumes. People now have a preconceived idea of what an app should cost that often has nothing to do with how much it must actually sell for in order to turn a profit.
I'm assuming that you mean prosumer apps. I haven't seen these on iOS. The only app that I've seen that is better on iOS is the official Twitter app.
Then again, I haven't seen traditionally big devs on the Mac release Acorn, Flare, and Pixelmator on iOS.
For example, an excellent synth app like this would probably sell for at least $99 as a plugin for Mac/PC: http://beepstreet.com/horizon
I don't know for sure but I'd be very surprised if it's moving 20x the units it would as a plugin. But if you price something like this above $10 you'll get all kinds of user outrage because that's not what an "app" should cost.
I'm listening to the link of the app and it is good but people have to be aware of it. This is the third synth app I've seen. I've also seen Animoog that was posted on The Verge.
The fault is that these apps need more advertisements. I'm willing to bet that most don't know that they can create music with a low-priced app. Consumers need to be made aware of this. There are YouTube videos destined to be made with these kind of apps.
For example, I saw an Sprint iPhone ad yesterday (maybe you've seen it?) where a guy is talking to his girlfriend while watching a game. All I gathered from the commercial was that the iPhone was on Sprint. They didn't give me the app or whether the game was live. The commercial became immediately insignificant.
I don't think marketing is the answer here. Every musician I know with an iOS device knows about this app. The problem is that the potential audience for something like this is never going to be big enough to make the Angry Birds pricing model work.
I've seen some that hate movies or TV but I've never seen anyone who doesn't like music or wants ti create it, even on a superficial level.
Angry Birds is an outlier. Their success had as much to do with quiet advertising than any blog could do.
At the end of the day, everyone wants to create – even it is something different with an usual set of apps.
Some believe that iOS is only meant to consume. I don't believe that. Apple has essentially released iWork and GarageBand in subsequent iPad releases.
>An MPG tracking app that gives me nice Excel sheets might not be enough to warrant $10 in the eyes of users, and I don't think that's necessarily Apple's fault or the market's fault. Maybe it's just that the niche you're targeting won't sustain the price you want, and unfortunately, that's the way the cookie crumbles when selling software like this.
Gas Cubby is a terrific app and I don't believe it's a niche. I think it's rather important in the US where many drive cars just because it reminds you where servicing is due. It suffers on gas station and prices because it's not easy to get these stats and prices change on a daily basis. I think the app suffers from a lack of advertisement.
There is still room for improvement within the app and to make it a necessity for all drivers.
I addressed the "it's just a free market" rebuttal in a previous post: http://appcubby.com/blog/app-store-pricing/
Short answer: it's not a free market. The design of the App Store and Apple's policies surrounding it have significantly shaped the market.